Knitting. Quilting. Sewing. Motherhood. Cleaning. Just kidding about the cleaning.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Magic Ball Fever

Hello! Since I have an etsy shop update tonight, I thought I whould show you something I finished last month from a Magic Ball. (Tonight will be the last of the Magic Balls until fall--I need to rest my winding arm!)

I was so taken with Jodee's Baby Suprise Jacket that I wanted to make one myself. I was possibly the only person on the planet that hadn't made one and I wanted to see how it was constructed.

Fun! Quick to make, fun to figure out, and adorable finished project. No wonder they are so popular! If I am wrong, and YOU are the only person on the planet who hasn't made one, go forth, now, and make thee a Baby Suprise!

Add some wee buttons and revel in the cuteness.

Specs:

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Suprise Jacket from The Opinionater Knitter, also available as a single pattern from Schoolhouse Press.

Notes: I was determined to use the Magic Ball as is, with no "engineering" of how the stripes would be placed. But when I got toward the end, I could see that the only pink section was the one around the sleeve edge (the same stripe that goes across the upper back). And I thought it would look really nice if the pink was repeated. So, I did break my "rule" of leaving the ball alone and just doing whatever came along. When I could see that the last stripe was going to be purple, I took the ball apart and got to another pink section so the front/bottom stripe would be pink. Some rules are meant to be broken--I love the way it turned out.

I love the Magic Ball idea; it appeals to the recyler in me. I am about to embark on a baby sweater and went looking for a pattern. I have seen this pattern on several other blogs and believe that the orginal pattern belongs to Elizabeth Zimmerman, who designed this jacket in 1968. See http://www.knitting-and.com/wiki/Baby_Surprise_Jacket for more information about knitting the jacket. Also, I just watched a video of her daughter explaining the pattern. Great video with lots of tips on making the jacket and knitting techniques in general. Can be ordered on http://www.schoolhousepress.com/videos.htm (scroll down for the sweater video)

Emily, I missed out on the magic balls again--argh! But I started a BSJ this week with some Socks That Rock that Carla brought me last year. Made one of these years ago, and loved the whole element of wondering just how it was going to come out!